Intercontinental Cry

On September 25, 2008, The United Nations officially [launched] REDD, a collaborative program with the FAO, UNDP, and the World Bank that seeks to bring forests in the carbon market.

“REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) has caused anxiety, protest and outrage throughout the world since it was created at the failed climate change negotiations in Bali and funded by the World Bank,” explains Huffington news.

“An estimated 60 million indigenous peoples are completely dependent on forests and are considered the most threatened by REDD. Therefore, indigenous leaders are among its most prominent critics. The International Indigenous Peoples’ Forum on Climate Change declared that: ‘…REDD will steal our land… States and carbon traders will take control over our forests.’”

The UN-REDD Framework Document confirms this and every other objection maintained by Indigenous People.

On page 4 and 5 of the document, it blatantly states that REDD could “deprive communities of their legitimate land-development aspirations, that hard-fought gains in forest management practices might be wasted, that it could cause the lock-up of forests by decoupling conservation from development, or erode culturally rooted not-for-profit conservation values.”

It also states that “REDD benefits in some circumstances may have to be traded off against other social, economic or environmental benefits,” and acknowledges that it could cause severe human rights violations and be disastrous for the poor because it could “marginalize the landless… and those with… communal use-rights”.

Information Package on: UN - REDD NEWS from the United Nations 63rd General Assembly currently in Session

c/o www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com

The UN-REDD Programme was officially launched during the High-Level event on the Millennium Goals on 25 September 2008 at UN Hqrs in NYC. UN-REDD is the United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries.

Framework Document by FAO, UNDP, UNEP http://www.undp.org/mdtf/UN-REDD/docs/Annex-A-Framework-Document.pdf

A Press Conference took place at the United Nations on 24 September 2008, UN Press release http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2008/sgsm11812.doc.htm

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Press Release http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=545&ArticleID=5930&l=en

UN - REDD and Indigenous Peoples

Various Indigenous representatives are opposed to UN-REDD. On 25 April 2008, the last day of the 7th session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues at UN Hqrs in NYC, the Indigenous Caucus of the Americas attempted to present a statement against REDD.As the Caucus was called out of order by the Chair, a protest ensued and Caucus members threatened to walk out. Security was called. A peacefully outcome resulted when the Chair allowed the Caucus representative to read the statement.

To watch the video (by Filmmaker Rebecca Sommer) from the protest against REDD at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtORVi7GybY

28 September 2008 - Compiled by Marie-Danielle Samuel, Main Rep. to UN
YACHAY WASI, NGO/UN ECOSOC & DPI, NYC and Cuzco, PERU “Yachay Wasi means House of Learning in Quechua” Luis Delgado Hurtado, PresidentLa Conquista 3ra puerta (Saphi)Cuzco, PERU Phone: 51-84-315815Marie-Danielle Samuel, Vice President 708 West 192nd Street # 6BNew York, NY 10040 USAPhone: 212-567-6447Fax: 917-529-0922 Email: yachaywasi@nyc.rr.com http://www.yachaywasi-ngo.org Yachay Wasi is in Operational Relations with UNESCO

Photo from: blogs.nature.com